Such pieces of furniture are frequently used as room dividers and, in that case, must have at least one door through which a person may pass from one side to the other. It is also generally desirable to provide them with open shelves for books or decorative articles and with cabinets closable by doors or panels with or without glass panes. Room dividers of this type, extending in two or three dimensions, are widely used in homes, offices, schools, stores, hotels, libraries and the like. In many of these instances the number and distribution of these distinct kinds of compartments should be variable according to changing requirements. Thus, it is customary to assemble such furniture pieces from modular units which can be utilized in different combinations.
The usual way of connecting such modular units to one another, and to a fixed skeletal framework, is with the aid of bolts and nuts which are not only unsightly but also laborious to emplace and remove.